1. Field
The present disclosure generally relates to the administration of medication by infusion and, more particularly, to an infusion pumping element.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many individuals suffer from chronic health problems, the treatment of which requires regular, and sometimes extended, medication deliveries. Certain treatment regimens for diseases such as diabetes, asthma, epilepsy, cancer and even allergies, require the regular delivery of precise amounts of medication for the patient's survival. Treating chronic medical disorders often requires the administration of medication over a long period of time according to a treatment regimen specified by a medical professional, such as a physician.
In cases of patients admitted to a healthcare facility, one or more infusions to be administered to a patient are prescribed by the patient's physician. A pharmacy, generally located within the patient's hospital or healthcare facility, prepares the infusion medication or solution according to the physician's prescription. The pharmacist places the infusion solution in a bag, bottle, syringe, or other container and labels the container. The label typically contains data to identify the patient, physician, medication prescribed, and a control number. The label is generally typed or printed in human readable characters and may also include machine-readable information, such as a bar code that is readable by optical energy or a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag that is readable by radio frequency (RF) energy. The container is transported to the patient's location and a clinician such as a nurse or other health practitioner hangs the container from a rack. The nurse connects a tube between the container and an infusion pumping system and inserts a cannula at the end of the tube into a vein, for an intravenous (IV) infusion, or other part of a patient. The tube may be part of an assembly that includes fittings, connectors, and pumping elements and is frequently referred to as an “IV set.” The pump of the infusion pumping system is started and the infusion proceeds.
Existing infusion pumps include peristaltic pumps that sequentially compress and release segments of an elastic line as well as pumps that manipulate pumping chambers that are incorporated into the IV set. The accuracy of a peristaltic pump is affected by the inner diameter of the tubing using in the IV set and elastic tubing having a precise inner diameter is more difficult to produce and therefore more expensive. Similarly, the accuracy of an infusion pump that uses a pumping chamber is dependent upon the accuracy of the size and resilience of the pumping chamber, again leading to a need to produce the disposable IV set in quantities of millions with high accuracy.
The infusion pumps that utilize the peristaltic tubes and elastic pumping elements described above are frequently complex systems with numerous moving parts to properly manipulate the matching pumping element. The sequential actuation required to precisely control displacement of the pumping element may require expensive motor controllers or complex mechanical linkages. In addition to the impact of this complexity on reliability and cost of the infusion pump, operation of this type of mechanism is frequently noisy. As infusion pumps are commonly used on a continuous basis, both within a healthcare facility and in other environments such as a patient's home, the noise can be a distraction and, in some cases, interfere with the patient's sleep, further affecting their recovery.
Providing an infusion pump that is able to deliver fluid at an accurate flow rate using a low-cost IV set would provide an advantage. Providing an infusion pump that accomplishes this while also being more reliable, less expensive, and/or quieter than current infusion pumps would be an additional advantage.